The scattered showers that began on Sunday evening will last until Tuesday afternoon as a weak low pressure system from the Gulf of Alaska --- and a little juice from the sub-tropics -- drifts across Southern California, says the National Weather Service. The system will only drop about one-third of an inch of rain west of the mountains, and about a half-inch in the mountains, doing little to alleviate the rain shortage. This season, many areas of East County have received about eight inches less rain than normal. The figure is almost four inches below average in downtown San Diego. The shortfall -- and last week's dry Santa Ana winds -- have caused grasses across the county to begin to dry out early, increasing the risk of wildfires, the weather service says.

The damp weather will begin to blow out on Wednesday, when the region begins a small, modest warming trend.